She, Herself & God
The Wonderful Meaning of the Widow’s Offering
“While Jesus was in the temple, He watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus said, ‘this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus; but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.’” (Luke 21:1-4)
One of the biggest challenges I had to face in life was not being financially responsible for the entire college education of a younger sibling when I was not yet stable in my career. It was actually being invalidated whenever I spoke up about my struggle of having a college student fully dependent on me just because, according to some people, my expenses were not that big compared to other breadwinners. What they had failed to see was that my cup was not yet filled at that time. And yet, I was tasked to offer to others what was inside my cup even if it was just a tiny part instead of giving my surplus alone, as it was supposed to be.
I remember on the first year I was supporting my sibling, I was earning so little that I could not even afford to buy a nail polish nor to eat out with my office mates. Then when I transferred to another company that offered almost double of my previous salary on the second year, school expenses had also doubled to the point that my sibling had a bigger allowance than myself. And on the third year, my contract ended; and I had to look again for a new job while simultaneously paying for a loan that I used in providing for my sibling’s needs during my period of unemployment. But thankfully on the last year, I found a stable job at last. So when my sibling graduated and the years of giving my all to others were finally over, I thought I should start filling my empty cup, as it was supposed to be.
But when we talk about the widow’s offering featured in the synoptic gospels, I am not sure if the phrase “as it was supposed to be” is appropriate for what she did because she was a poor widow. Imagine, no one was supporting her financially; and yet, she chose to give all the money she had at that time. She could have used those two small coins to buy something to eat; but she chose to give it all in exchange for a food that will never make her hungry again. She could not have dropped anything in the collection box because she was a poor widow, after all; but she chose to take part and be a blessing by giving everything she had even if it would leave her empty. No wonder Jesus said that the poor widow had given more than all the rest of them, who only gave a tiny part of their surplus.
As a woman of God, each of us has our own story of giving our all. We may have given our resources to people who would later deny us or worse, betray us. We may have given our services to people who did not help us at all when we were the ones in need. We may have given our time to people who only wasted it or worse, wasted us. We may have given our support to people who did not see our sacrifices and were never, ever grateful. We may have given our love to people who did not have the heart to love us back nor the eyes to even see our worth. But thankfully, we have a Lord who sees it all, knows it all, and remembers it all. And despite the invalidation of some people, we can rest assured that we are more blessed when we give than when we receive.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wonderful meaning of the widow’s offering because it teaches us to give our all especially to You in obedience to Your greatest commandment of loving You with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. Thank You for making us realize that it no longer matters now if our cups are empty or full because as true followers of Christ, we are called to drink His cup of suffering and to take up our crosses. Just like the widow who gave her two small coins, we want to offer You everything we have even if it is not big compared to what others can offer. We want to serve You and to serve others because it is also part of Your greatest commandment to love others as ourselves even if it means not just giving a tiny part of our surplus but emptying our own cups instead. Just please give us the capacity, the strength, and the joy to endure to the end until Jesus comes back on the day of resurrection. We give You all the glory, honor, and praise. All these we pray in the Name of Christ the Sufferer. Amen.
